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The London Book Fair 2008 will no doubt be another world-class event with a host of new initiatives and increasing participation, both exhibitor and visitor.

This year the Fair will feature 1,550 exhibitors from 62 countries. 58% of exhibitors will come from overseas, with attendance rising particularly steeply from Eastern European countries. The Fair is set to see significant growth in international presence, with a 15% increase in international space sold.

There will be new international pavilions from Romania and Russia who are participating for the first time. Organised by the Romanian Cultural Institute, the Romanian pavilion will represent 25 of the country’s most prominent publishers and complement the increasingly visible presence of Romanian authors in the international book market. Offering a comprehensive view of the Romanian publishing sector, the stand will present programmes run by the National Book Centre of the Romanian Cultural Institute.

The new Russian pavilion, organised by Academia Rossica, will showcase 14 Russian publishers presenting leading books and authors. The stand will include a dedicated seminar zone, hosting a series of discussions, presentations and launches. The pavilion aims to help Russian publishers integrate into the international publishing community and will be part of a larger programme: Russian Literature Week in London.

The Portuguese Association of Publishers and Booksellers (APEL) will participate at the Fair for the first time sharing a pavilion with Platano Editora, one of Portugal’s largest publishing houses. The Turkish Ministry of Turkish Culture will have a big presence and a host of new Italian exhibitors will feature, including Milan and Atlantyca in the Children’s sector and Italian art publishers Treccani and Scala. The Arab World will be the Market Focus for 2008, and a host of seminars and events will highlight the trade links with this territory, its publishing industry and the opportunities for conducting business with the rest of the world.

There will be a new entrance at Earls Court Two and a number of features within the hall. For the first time the Fair will host The Gourmand/London Book Fair Cook Book Corner in association with The Gourmand World Cook Book Awards. A variety of international chefs will give cookery demonstrations and sign copies of their latest books. Once again the Fair will host the popular Author of the Day initiative, this year bestselling authors Sebastian Faulks, Alaa Al Alswany and Francesca Simon will be featured. A host of authors will be showcased in a new English PEN Literary Café throughout the event. The Café will offer visitors the opportunity to sit down, relax and enjoy listening to their favourite author.

The London Book Fair 2008 will feature a variety of new events and established favourites. Following exhibitor and visitor research, the 2008 seminar programme will focus on three key areas: digitisation, children’s books & publishing and film and TV. A new American Independent Bookseller programme will also take place this year which will enable 25 independent US booksellers to visit London for a week during the Fair.

New for 2008, The London Book Fair will be producing podcast interviews that will be available to download from the website. There will be audio podcast interviews with three key members of the industry that talk about each of the areas that the seminar programme will be focusing on this year: Julian Friedmann from Blake Friedmann Literary, TV and Film Agency for Film & TV; Viv Bird, Director Booktrust for Children’s Books & Publishing; Francis Bennett, Chairman Ehaus talking about Digitisation. In addition to these there will be video podcasts of each of the authors taking part in the Author of the Day programme.

This text is the March update press release from the website of the London Book Fair.
www.londonbookfair.co.uk

Keywords: David Krut Publishing, London Fair